Suicide bomber targets British vehicle in Afghanistan

A suicide bomber attacked a British Embassy vehicle in the eastern part of the Afghan capital Thursday, killing at least five and injuring more than 30, according to law enforcement officials.

Itâ€™s the latest in a spate of assaults targeting foreigners as most U.S. and international troops are preparing to withdraw by the end of the year.

Authorities said the attacker detonated a car filled with explosives near the British vehicle, killing one British citizen and four Afghans.

A British Embassy spokesman acknowledged that there â€œhave been some injuriesâ€ but declined to elaborate. The attack unfolded around 10 a.m.

â€œI heard a huge blast,â€ said Mohammad Omar, an Afghan guard working for a construction company with an office near the scene of the bombing. â€œI was dazed, but a few minutes later I saw three cars destroyed and many people wounded.â€

The Taliban Islamist insurgency claimed responsibility for the attack, as it has for other bombings that have rocked the capital in recent weeks. In a tweet, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the â€œmartyrdom attack targeted foreign invaders.â€

The explosion was heard miles away in other parts of Kabul, and black smoke rose from the scene, which was about a mile from the bases where foreign contractors.

It was the second time this week that foreigners were attacked in a similar fashion in the same area. On Monday, two American soldiers, including one from Marylandâ€™s eastern shore, were killed nearby when a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded as their convoy passed.

The Pentagon on Wednesday said Command Sgt. Maj. Wardell B. Turner, 48, of Nanticoke, and Spc. Joseph W. Riley of Grove City, Ohio. Both soldiers were working with the International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led mission to help stabilize Afghanistan.

Attacks in Kabul, and in other parts of the country, have intensified since Afghanistanâ€™s new President Ashraf Ghani took office two months ago and signed a security pact to extend the presence of US and international forces beyond the end of the year.

The Taliban has denounced Ghani and his close ties to Washington and have launched a campaign attacking high profile targets. In recent weeks they have tried to assassinate Kabulâ€™s police chief and a prominent womenâ€™s rights activist. They have also repeatedly assaulted compounds inhabited by foreign contractors.

UNITED NATIONS, November 28 (Sputnik) â€“ The UN Security Council members condemn the attack against a United Kingdom embassy vehicle in Kabul, the Press Statement said.

The UN Security Council â€œcondemned in the strongest terms the attack on November 27 in Kabul which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries to civilians and security personnel, for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility,â€ the statement said Thursday.

The members of the Security Council expressed their concern over Taliban and al-Qaida activities threatening local population, national and international security forces in Afghanistan.

Calling for accountability, the members of the Security Council â€œunderlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Afghan authorities in this regard.â€

In the UN Security Council, where Australia has been put in charge of draft resolutions about Afghanistan, the Australian Mission to the UN signals it is working on a proposal about future security arrangements in the country.
The Security Council members concluded their statement saying â€œno terrorist act can reverse the path towards Afghan-led peace, democracy and stability in Afghanistan, which is supported by the people and the Government of Afghanistan and by the international community.â€

On Thursday, British embassy vehicle was attacked by a suicide bomber in Kabul. According to the reports, five people died and 34 were injured.